The Kulevi oil terminal is an oil port on the eastern Black Sea coast in Georgia . The terminal is located in Khobi District , close to the populated area of the village Kulevi, formerly Redoubt Kali , and from the coastal area between rivers Tsiva and Khobistskali.
131-522: The Kulevi Oil Terminal project was originally authorised by president Shevardnadze 's decree on September 8, 1999. Subsequently, the construction began near the village of Kulevi by Terminal 2000 Ltd, a partnership created between Argomar Oil Ltd and Georgian Railway . In late 2002 though, the project was put on hold, due to environmental concerns and insufficient funds. Construction resumed in September 2004 under an international consortium of investors led by
262-735: A First Secretary of a Tbilisi city district, and was able to charge the Tbilisi First Secretary at the time with corruption. His anti-corruption work quickly garnered the interest of the Soviet government and Shevardnadze was appointed as First Deputy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Georgian SSR. He would later become the head of the internal affairs ministry and was able to charge First Secretary (leader of Soviet Georgia) Vasil Mzhavanadze with corruption. He served as First Secretary of
393-526: A First Secretary of a city district in Tbilisi . Shevardnadze challenged Tbilisi First Secretary Otari Lolashvili , and later charged him with corruption. Shevardnadze left party work after his appointment as First Deputy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Georgian SSR in 1964. It was his successful attempt at jailing Lolashvili, which got him promoted to the post of First Deputyship. In 1965, Shevardnadze
524-516: A Georgian business tycoon Badri Patarkatsishvili . Two years later Badri Patarkatsishvili sold his stake in Kulevi Terminal, then still under construction, to the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) for an undisclosed sum of money. The terminal was complete by November 2007 and was officially opened on 16 May 2008. Kulevi Oil Terminal incorporates three piers, a canal for tankers,
655-580: A brave decision to meet a Western provocation. Together with its low credibility explanation in 1986 of the meltdown of the nuclear reactor at Chernobyl, the episode demonstrated an inability to deal with public relations crises; the propaganda system was only aimed at people who already were committed friends of the Soviet Union. Both crises were escalated by technological and organizational failures, compounded by human error. US−Soviet relations deteriorated rapidly especially after March 1983, when Reagan dubbed
786-441: A car filled with tomatoes through the border. After his personal subterfuge, the entire Georgian border police was purged. While never proven, it is said that after taking office, Shevardnadze asked all leading officials to show their left hands and ordered those who used Western-produced watches to replace them with Soviet ones. This story portrayed Shevardnadze as an active battler against corruption. His campaign against corruption
917-416: A civilian jet liner, Korean Air Flight KAL-007 , which carried 269 passengers and crew. It had strayed over the Soviet Union on 1 September 1983 on its scheduled route from Anchorage, Alaska, to Seoul, South Korea. The Soviet system was unprepared to deal with a civilian airliner, and the shooting down was a matter of following orders without question. Instead of admitting an accident, Soviet media proclaimed
1048-684: A compromise for reducing nuclear missiles in Europe on both sides that was ultimately ignored by the Politburo. Kvitsinsky would later write that, despite his own efforts, the Soviet leadership was not interested in compromise, instead calculating that peace movements in the West would force the Americans to capitulate. On 8 March 1983, during Andropov's reign as General Secretary, U.S. President Ronald Reagan famously labeled
1179-461: A continued high military budget. Aged 68, Andropov was the oldest person ever appointed as General Secretary. Andropov began a thorough house-cleaning throughout the party and state bureaucracy, a decision made easy by the fact that the Central Committee had an average age of 69. He replaced more than one-fifth of the Soviet ministers and regional party first secretaries and more than one-third of
1310-579: A firm supporter of people's democracy—i.e. power from below. Previous Soviet Georgian rulers had given in to nationalist favouritism to the Georgians ; Shevardnadze was against this policy of favouritism. Therefore, his nationalistic policy is considered controversial in Georgia. At the 25th Congress of the Georgian Communist Party , Shevardnadze told the congress, "for Georgians, the sun rises not in
1441-507: A great contribution to end the Cold War and to establish new world order." Former President Mikheil Saakashvili, who overthrew Shevardnadze in the 2003 Rose Revolution, offered condolences and said Shevardnadze was "a significant figure for the Soviet empire and for post-Soviet Georgia". Saakashvili said his government did not start a criminal prosecution against Shevardnadze, despite calls by some politicians and parts of society, out of "respect to
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#17328727873661572-655: A leader of the national liberation movement, Zviad Gamsakhurdia —an academic and writer who had been imprisoned by Shevardnadze's government in the late 1970s. However, Gamsakhurdia's rule ended abruptly in January 1992, when he was deposed in a bloody coup d'état . Shevardnadze was appointed Speaker of the Georgian parliament in March 1992 and as speaker of parliament in November; both of these posts were equivalent to that of president. When
1703-723: A legitimate leader and tried to regain power. Shevardnadze signed Georgia up to the Commonwealth of Independent States , in return receiving help from Russia to end the conflict, although Georgia also deepened its ties with the European Union and the United States. It joined the Council of Europe in 1999 and declared its intention to join NATO in 2002. Shevardnadze oversaw large-scale privatization and other political and economic changes. His rule
1834-462: A lot about what it takes to establish democracy. But once having established it, there are always people who will try to twist it to their own end, because we may eliminate communism from the world, but we have not eliminated lust for power or greed that leads to corruption or the hatreds and fears in the human heart that lead to the oppression of those who are different from us in race or religion or belong to some other minority group. This man has stayed
1965-937: A member of the Central Committee (CC) of the CPSU in 1976, and in 1978 was promoted to the rank of non-voting candidate member of the Soviet Political Bureau (Politburo). His chance came in 1985, when the veteran Soviet Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrei Gromyko left that post for the largely ceremonial position of Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union (official head of state). The de facto leader, Communist Party general secretary Mikhail Gorbachev, appointed Shevardnadze to replace Gromyko as Minister of Foreign Affairs, thus consolidating Gorbachev's circle of relatively young reformers. Shevardnadze
2096-417: A mobile service fleet of 9 vessels, and a laboratory for oil and refined products testing. The terminal has a tank park with overall storage capacity of 320,000 cubic metres (11,000,000 cu ft) with the prospect of increase up to 380,000 cubic metres (13,000,000 cu ft). For loading operations there are two berths for receiving tankers with tonnage up to 100,000 tonnes. Loading performance
2227-547: A parliamentary election that was widely denounced as unfair by international election observers. The outcome sparked fury among many Georgians, leading to mass demonstrations in Tbilisi and elsewhere, called the Rose Revolution . Protesters broke into parliament on 22 November as the first session of the new Parliament was beginning, forcing President Shevardnadze to escape with his bodyguards. On 23 November, Shevardnadze met with
2358-681: A prevalent problem in other parts of the Soviet Union, had nearly disappeared in Georgia. Long food queues in Tbilisi had shortened while those in Moscow had lengthened. Some of Shevardnadze's economic policies were adopted nationally by the Soviet government. In 1973, Shevardnadze launched an agricultural reform in Abasha , popularly referred to as the "Abasha experiment". This reform was inspired by János Kádár 's agricultural policy in Hungarian People's Republic , which returned agricultural decision-making to
2489-529: A reduction in the Communist Party of the Soviet Union 's (CPSU) micromanagement of the economy and greater attention to public opinion. However, KGB repression of Soviet dissidents also increased. In February 1983, Soviet representatives withdrew from the World Psychiatric Organization in protest of that group's continued complaints about the use of psychiatry to suppress dissent . This policy
2620-481: A series of crises in the 1990s, which nearly led to the election of Yeltsin's Communist challenger, Gennady Zyuganov , in the 1996 presidential election . After the turn of the century, the economy of Russia has begun to improve greatly, due to major investments and business development and also due to high prices of natural resources. According to Boris N. Mironov, by 2020 Russian scholars had produced over 300 books, 3000 articles, and 20 dissertations trying to explain
2751-762: A sharp economic decline in the already failing Soviet economy. The US financed the training for the Mujahideen warlords such as Jalaluddin Haqqani , Gulbudin Hekmatyar and Burhanuddin Rabbani eventually culminated to the fall of the Soviet satellite the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan . While the CIA and MI6 and the People's Liberation Army of China financed the operation along with
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#17328727873662882-1000: A shelling by Abkhaz separatists in Sukhumi . In August 1995, he survived another car bomb attack outside the parliament building in Tbilisi. In 1998, his motorcade was ambushed by 10 to 15 armed men; two bodyguards were killed. At the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Istanbul Summit of November 1999, agreement was reached that the Russian military bases in Georgia would all be evacuated by Russia before 1 July 2001. However, Russian pullout from its military base in Abkhazia remained under question amid Russian backing of Abkhaz separatists against Georgia. The tensions were further exacerbated when Russia accused Georgia of harbouring Chechen guerrillas on Georgia's northern border during
3013-452: A speech in which he called general secretary Leonid Brezhnev "vozhd" ( leader ), a term previously reserved for Joseph Stalin. His adulation was only surpassed by that of Andrei Kirilenko and Heydar Aliyev . As Yegor Ligachev later said, Shevardnadze never contradicted a general secretary. During Brezhnev's last days, Shevardnadze publicly endorsed Konstantin Chernenko 's candidature for
3144-627: A thorough shakeup with the commanders of all 16 military districts replaced along with all theaters of military operation, as well as the three Soviet fleets. Not since World War II had the Soviet military had such a rapid turnover of officers. Sixty-eight-year-old Marshal Nikolai Ogarkov was fully rehabilitated after having fallen from favor in 1983–84 due to his handling of the KAL 007 shootdown and his ideas about improving Soviet strategic and tactical doctrines were made into an official part of defense policy, although some of his other ambitions such as developing
3275-499: A time when dissatisfaction was increasing. In all, the positive view of Soviet lifelong presented to the public by the official media was rapidly fading, and the negative aspects of life in the Soviet Union were brought into the spotlight. This undermined the faith of the public in the Soviet system and eroded the Communist Party's social power base, threatening the identity and integrity of the Soviet Union itself. Fraying amongst
3406-508: A time. Many Europeans became convinced that the US and not the Soviet Union was the more aggressive country, and there was fear over the prospect of a war, especially since there was a widespread conviction in Europe that the US, being separated from the Red Army by two oceans as opposed to a short land border, was insensitive to the people of Germany and other countries. Moreover, the memory of World War II
3537-528: A weakening of the Soviet government , which led to disintegration and took place from about 19 January 1990 to 26 December 1991. The process was characterized by many of the republics of the Soviet Union declaring their independence and being recognized as sovereign nation-states . Andrei Grachev, the Deputy Head of the Intelligence Department of the Central Committee, summed up the denouement of
3668-516: A weakening of the central government. The Soviet Union finally collapsed in 1991 when Boris Yeltsin seized power in the aftermath of a failed coup that had attempted to topple the reform-minded Gorbachev. By 1982, the stagnation of the Soviet economy was obvious, as evidenced by the fact that the Soviet Union had been importing grain from the U.S. throughout the 1970s, but the system was so firmly entrenched that any real change seemed impossible. A huge rate of defense spending consumed large parts of
3799-553: Is coming". A few months later, his fears were partially realised when an unsuccessful coup by Communist hardliners precipitated the collapse of the Soviet Union . Shevardnadze returned briefly as Soviet Foreign Minister in November 1991 but resigned with Gorbachev the following month, when the Soviet Union was formally dissolved. In 1991, Shevardnadze was baptized into the Georgian Orthodox Church . The newly independent Republic of Georgia elected as its first president
3930-464: Is from 1,000 to 8,000 m3/h. The terminal has its own railway station, where 180 oil tank cars can be placed for discharging. The trestles make possible the simultaneous discharge of 168 oil tank cars, through four railway branches. The terminal has annual processing capacity of 10 million tonnes of crude oil and refined products. SOCAR plans to increase the capacity of the terminal to 20 million tonnes per year. That would make Kulevi
4061-490: Is not just irresponsible. It is insane". In August 1983, Andropov announced that the country was stopping all work on space-based weapons. Meanwhile, Soviet–U.S. arms control talks on intermediate-range nuclear weapons in Europe were suspended by the Soviet Union in November 1983 and by the end of the year, the Soviets had broken off all arms control negotiations. Massive bad publicity worldwide came when Soviet fighters shot down
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4192-751: The Great Purge , his father was arrested but was later released because of the intervention of an NKVD officer who had been Ambrose's pupil. In 1948 at the age of twenty, Shevardnadze joined the Georgian Communist Party (GCP) and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU). He rose steadily through the ranks of the Georgian Komsomol and after serving a term as Second Secretary, he became its First Secretary. During his Komsomol First Secretaryship, Shevardnadze met Mikhail Gorbachev for his first time. Shevardnadze said he grew disillusioned with
4323-517: The Holy Trinity Cathedral of Tbilisi , Shevardnadze was buried next to his late wife Nanuli Shevardnadze at the Krtsanisi residence in Tbilisi. [REDACTED] Soviet Union: [REDACTED] Georgia: I want to thank you for giving this award to President Shevardnadze. He has been a friend of the United States and a friend of ours. He has stood for democracy. You heard him tell
4454-488: The Russian SFSR . To halt this development, the Georgian government gave way to concessions made by the secessionists that included establishing an Abkhaz university, the expansion of Abkhaz publications and creating an Abkhaz television station. Shevardnadze proved to be an active supporter of defending minority interests. At the 25th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) in 1976, Shevardnadze gave
4585-548: The Second Chechen War . More friction was caused by Shevardnadze's close relationship with the United States, which saw him as a counterbalance to Russian influence in the strategic Transcaucasus region. Under Shevardnadze's strongly pro-Western administration, Georgia became a major recipient of U.S. foreign and military aid, signed a strategic partnership with NATO and officially declared an ambition to join NATO in 2002. At
4716-555: The Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union passed legislation calling for an increasing level of Russian language training in the non-Russian republics. There was another problem facing Shevardnadze during the 1978 demonstrations; some leading Abkhaz intellectuals were writing to Leonid Brezhnev in the hope that he would let the Abkhaz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic secede from Georgia and merge into
4847-541: The Transcaucasian SFSR , which was a constituent republic of the Soviet Union . His father Ambrose was a teacher and a devoted communist and party official. His mother had little respect for the communist government and opposed both Shevardnadze's and his father's party careers. Eduard was a cousin of the Georgian painter and intellectual Dimitri Shevardnadze , who was purged under Joseph Stalin . In 1937, during
4978-572: The communist regime , and also perestroika . The dramatic drop of the price of oil in 1985 and 1986 profoundly influenced actions of the Soviet leadership. Nikolai Tikhonov , the Chairman of the Council of Ministers , was succeeded by Nikolai Ryzhkov , and Vasili Kuznetsov , the acting Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet , was succeeded by Andrei Gromyko , the former Minister of Foreign Affairs. Several republics began resisting central control, and increasing democratization led to
5109-402: The 1990s" as President of Georgia and putting the country "on its irreversible trajectory toward Euro-Atlantic integration". Shevardnadze was accorded a state funeral on 13 July 2014, which was attended by the Georgian political leaders and foreign dignitaries, including the former US Secretary of State James Baker and former German Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher . After a service at
5240-617: The Chinese border. He earned the nickname "The Silver Fox". During the late 1980s as the Soviet Union descended into crisis, Shevardnadze became increasingly unpopular and was in conflict with Soviet hard-liners who disliked his reforms and his soft line with the West. He criticised a campaign by Soviet troops to put down an uprising in his native Georgia in 1989. In protest over the growing influence of hardliners under Gorbachev, Shevardnadze suddenly resigned in December 1990, saying, "Dictatorship
5371-425: The Communist Party losing its absolute grip on the media. Before long, and much to the embarrassment of the authorities, the media began to expose severe social and economic problems the Soviet government had long denied and actively concealed. Problems receiving increased attention included poor housing, alcoholism, drug abuse , pollution, outdated Stalin-era factories, and petty to large-scale corruption, all of which
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5502-517: The Communist regime. Also, the Chernobyl disaster in 1986 added motive force to Gorbachev's glasnost and perestroika reforms, which eventually spiraled out of control and caused the Soviet system to collapse. After years of stagnation, the "new thinking" of younger Communist apparatchik began to emerge. Following the death of terminally ill Konstantin Chernenko, the Politburo elected Mikhail Gorbachev to
5633-590: The First Secretaryship after Vasil Mzhavanadze 's resignation. In 1951, Shevardnadze married Nanuli Shevardnadze , whose father was killed by the authorities at the height of the purge. At first, Nanuli rejected Shevardnadze's marriage proposal, fearing that her family background would ruin Shevardnadze's party career. These fears were well justified; many other couples died for the same reason. Between 25 July 1972 and 29 September 1972, Shevardnadze served as
5764-493: The General Secretaryship and called him a "great theoretician". However, when it became clear that the secretaryship would not go to Chernenko but to Yuri Andropov , Shevardnadze swiftly revised his position and gave his support to Andropov. Shevardnadze became the first Soviet republican head to offer his gratitude to the newly elected leader; in turn, Andropov quickly signalled his appreciation and his support for some of
5895-496: The Georgian Communist Party (GPC) from 1972 to 1985, which made him the de facto leader of Georgia. As First Secretary, Shevardnadze started several economic reforms, which would spur economic growth in the republic—an uncommon occurrence in the Soviet Union because the country was experiencing a nationwide economic stagnation . Shevardnadze's anti-corruption campaign continued until he resigned from his office as First Secretary. In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev appointed Shevardnadze to
6026-461: The Georgian provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia . A Georgian Civil War between supporters of Gamsakhurdia and Shevardnadze broke out in western Georgia in 1993 but was ended by Russian intervention on Shevardnadze's side and the death of ex-President Gamsakhurdia on 31 December 1993. Shevardnadze survived three assassination attempts in 1992, 1995, and 1998. He escaped a car bomb in Abkhazia in 1992. In July 1993, Shevardnadze narrowly escaped
6157-525: The Middle East, and troubles in Ethiopia and South Africa. The most critical threat was the "Second Cold War" launched by American President Ronald Reagan and a specific attack on rolling back what he denounced as the " Evil Empire ". Reagan was using American economic power, and Soviet economic weakness, to escalate massive spending on the Cold War, emphasizing high technology that Moscow lacked. The main response
6288-696: The Pakistan government against the Soviet Union, eventually the Soviet Union began looking for a withdrawal route and in 1988 the Geneva Accords were signed between Communist-Afghanistan and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ; under the terms Soviet troops were to withdraw. Once the withdrawal was complete the Pakistan ISI continued to support the Mujahideen against the Communist Government and by 1992,
6419-464: The Politburo and Secretariat was Grigory Romanov , who had been Gorbachev's most significant rival for the position of General Secretary. Gromyko's removal as Foreign Minister was the most unexpected change given his decades of unflinching, faithful service compared to the unknown, inexperienced Shevardnadze. More predictably, the 80-year-old Nikolai Tikhonov , the Chairman of the Council of Ministers ,
6550-485: The Politburo. His responsibilities for the appointment of personnel allowed him to make the contacts and distribute the favors necessary for a future bid to become general secretary. At this point, Western experts believed that Andropov was grooming Gorbachev as his successor. However, although Gorbachev acted as a deputy to the general secretary throughout Andropov's illness, Gorbachev's time had not yet arrived when his patron died early in 1984. At 73, Konstantin Chernenko
6681-466: The President's institution". Among others, Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry offered condolences. Kerry credited Shevardnadze with playing "an instrumental role" in bringing about the end of the Cold War, a reduction of "the risk of nuclear confrontation" as the Soviet Union's Foreign Minister, ensuring "the sovereignty and territorial integrity of [Georgia] during
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#17328727873666812-576: The Soviet Union also prevented a visit to West Germany by East German leader Erich Honecker . Fighting in the Afghan Democratic Republic also intensified, but in the late autumn of 1984 the United States and the Soviet Union did agree to resume arms control talks in early 1985. In addition to the failing economy, the prolonged war in Afghanistan, often referred to as the Soviet Union's "Vietnam War", led to increased public dissatisfaction with
6943-814: The Soviet Union an " evil empire ". The official press agency TASS accused Reagan of "thinking only in terms of confrontation and bellicose, lunatic anti-communism". Further Soviet outrage was directed at Reagan's stationing of intermediate-range nuclear missiles in Western Europe. In Afghanistan , Angola , Nicaragua and elsewhere, under the Reagan Doctrine , the US began undermining Soviet-supported governments by supplying arms to anti-communist resistance movements in these countries. President Reagan's decision to deploy medium-range Pershing II missiles in Western Europe met with mass protests in countries such as France and West Germany, sometimes numbering 1 million people at
7074-556: The Soviet Union an " evil empire ". The same month, on 23 March, Reagan announced the Strategic Defense Initiative . Reagan claimed this research program into ballistic missile defense would be "consistent with our obligations under the ABM Treaty". However, Andropov was dismissive of this claim, and said that "It is time they [Washington] stopped ... search[ing] for the best ways of unleashing nuclear war. ... Engaging in this
7205-685: The Soviet Union and stated that the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan was "the most serious threat to the peace since the Second World War." East-West tensions increased during the first term of US President Ronald Reagan (1981–85), reaching levels not seen since the Cuban Missile Crisis as Reagan increased US military spending to 7% of the GDP. To match the military buildup, the Soviet Union increased its own military spending to 27% of its GDP and froze production of civilian goods at 1980 levels, causing
7336-556: The Soviet economy suffered from both hidden inflation and pervasive supply shortages aggravated by an increasingly open black market that undermined the official economy. Additionally, the costs of superpower status—the military, space program, subsidies to client states—were out of proportion to the Soviet economy. The new wave of industrialization based upon information technology had left the Soviet Union desperate for Western technology and credits in order to counter its increasing backwardness. The Law on Cooperatives enacted in May 1988
7467-406: The Soviet government's decision to amend the Georgian constitution and remove the Georgian language as the sole state language in the republic. While at first standing firm with the Soviet government, Shevardnadze quickly reiterated his position and was able to compromise with the Soviet government and the demonstrators. The Georgian language was kept as the sole official language of the republic and
7598-517: The Soviet political system following Nikita Khrushchev 's " Secret Speech " to the 20th CPSU Congress . Like many Soviet people, Shevardnadze was horrified by the crimes perpetrated by Joseph Stalin , and the Soviet government 's response to the 1956 Georgian demonstrations shocked him even more. He was demoted in 1961 by the Politburo of the Georgian Communist Party after offending a senior official. After his demotion Shevardnadze endured several years of obscurity before returning to attention as
7729-449: The USSR's collapse, Russia faced many problems that free market proponents in 1992 did not expect. Among other things, 25% of the population lived below the poverty line, life expectancy had fallen, birthrates were low, and the GDP was halved. There was a sharp increase in economic inequality between 1988/1989 and 1993/1995, with the Gini ratio increasing by an average of 9 points for all former socialist countries. These problems led to
7860-478: The ability of the USSR's central Moscow government to impose its will on the USSR's constituent republics had been largely undermined. Massive peaceful protests in the Baltic republics such as the Baltic Way and the Singing Revolution drew international attention and bolstered independence movements in various other regions. The rise of nationalism under freedom of speech soon re-awakened simmering ethnic tensions in various Soviet republics, further discrediting
7991-437: The central government under the growing spirit of regional autonomy. The anti−alcohol campaign reduced tax revenues as well, which in 1982 accounted for about 12% of all state revenue. The elimination of central control over production decisions, especially in the consumer goods sector, led to the breakdown in traditional supplier−producer relationships without contributing to the formation of new ones. Thus, instead of streamlining
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#17328727873668122-472: The command economy, Soviet output stagnated. Failed attempts at reform, a standstill economy, and the success of the proxies of the United States against the Soviet Union 's forces in the war in Afghanistan led to a general feeling of discontent, especially in the Soviet-occupied Baltic countries and Eastern Europe . Greater political and social freedoms, instituted by the last Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev , created an atmosphere of open criticism of
8253-432: The communist elite became dissatisfied with him. To proceed with reforms opposed by the majority of the communist party, Gorbachev aimed to consolidate power in a new position, President of the Soviet Union , which was independent from the CPSU and the soviets (councils) and whose holder could be impeached only in case of direct violation of the law. On 15 March 1990, Gorbachev was elected as the first executive president. At
8384-427: The comparatively young Soviet leader would have a PR advantage over President Reagan, who was 20 years his senior. Reagan and Gorbachev met for the first time in Geneva in November. The three weeks preceding the summit meeting were marked by an unprecedented Soviet media campaign against the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), taking advantage of opposition at home in the US to the program. When it finally took place,
8515-460: The course when the price was high, and I thank you for awarding this to him tonight. — Bill Clinton , at the NDI Dinner in 1999 Gorbachev era The history of the Soviet Union from 1982 through 1991 spans the period from the Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev 's death until the dissolution of the Soviet Union . Due to the years of Soviet military buildup at the expense of domestic development, and complex systemic problems in
8646-449: The department heads within the Central Committee apparatus. As a result, he replaced the aging leadership with younger, more vigorous administrators. But Andropov's ability to reshape the top leadership was constrained by his own age and poor health and the influence of Chernenko, his rival and longtime ally of Brezhnev who had previously supervised personnel matters in the Central Committee. The transition of power from Brezhnev to Andropov
8777-429: The dismantling of the administrative command system in Russia would raise GDP and living standards by allocating resources more efficiently. They also thought the collapse would create new production possibilities by eliminating central planning, substituting a decentralized market system, eliminating huge macroeconomic and structural distortions through liberalization, and providing incentives through privatization. Since
8908-435: The distinguished politicians of the 20th century, who participated in dismantling of the Soviet system". He added, "He was also playing a serious role in creation of new Georgia and in development of our western course". Garibashvili said Shevardnadze's "contribution was especially important in establishing Georgia's geopolitical role in the modern world. Eduard Shevardnadze was a politician of international significance, who made
9039-424: The downfall quite cogently: "Gorbachev actually put the sort of final blow to the resistance of the Soviet Union by killing the fear of the people. It was still that this country was governed and kept together, as a structure, as a government structure, by the fear from Stalinist times." To restructure the Soviet administrative command system and implement a transition to a market economy , Yeltsin's shock program
9170-469: The east, but in the north—in Russia". Shevardnadze saw "extreme nationalism", coupled with corruption and inefficiencies within the system, as one of the main obstacles to economic growth. During his rule he condemned what he considered "national narrow-mindedness and isolation" and writers who published works with nationalistic overtones. The 1970s saw an increase in nationalistic tendencies in Georgian society. The 1978 Georgian demonstrations were sparked by
9301-662: The economic management. Shevardnadze was a strong supporter of political reform in the Georgian SSR. He created agencies attached to the Central Committee of the Georgian Communist Party whose main task was studying, analysing and moulding public opinion. These agencies worked closely with Georgia's communications networks and media; government ministers and Shevardnadze were regularly interviewed live on television. Shevardnadze criticised flattery in Georgia and said he and his government's activities needed to be criticised more often, especially during party congresses. He showed himself, even before Mikhail Gorbachev's rise to power, to be
9432-587: The economy. The transition period that separated the Brezhnev and Gorbachev eras resembled the former much more than the latter, although hints of reform emerged as early as 1983. Brezhnev died on 10 November 1982. After a two-day power struggle Yuri Andropov became the new General Secretary . He maneuvered his way into power both through his KGB connections and by gaining the support of the military by promising not to cut defense spending. For comparison, some of his rivals such as Konstantin Chernenko were skeptical of
9563-468: The face of Soviet reforms such as Perestroika . In the aftermath of the Soviet Union's collapse in 1991, Shevardnadze returned to the newly independent Republic of Georgia , after being asked to lead the country by the Military Council , which had recently deposed the country's first president, Zviad Gamsakhurdia . In 1992 Shevardnadze became the leader of Georgia (as Chairman of Parliament). He
9694-568: The fall of the Soviet Union by encouraging it to overextend its economic base. The proposition that special operations by the CIA in Saudi Arabia affected the prices of Soviet oil was refuted by Marshall Goldman —one of the leading experts on the economy of the Soviet Union—in his latest book. He pointed out that the Saudis decreased their production of oil in 1985 (it reached a 16-year low), whereas
9825-498: The final Soviet minister of foreign affairs from 1985 to 1990. Shevardnadze started his political career in the late 1940s as a leading member of his local Komsomol organisation. He was later appointed its Second Secretary, then its First Secretary. His rise in the Georgian Soviet hierarchy continued until 1961 when he was demoted after he insulted a senior official. After spending two years in obscurity, Shevardnadze returned as
9956-505: The first Soviet leader to miss the anniversary celebrations of the 1917 revolution that November. He died in February 1984 of kidney failure after disappearing from public view for several months. His most significant legacy to the Soviet Union was his discovery and promotion of Mikhail Gorbachev . Beginning in 1978, Gorbachev advanced in two years through the Kremlin hierarchy to full membership in
10087-526: The first secretary of the Tbilisi City Committee of the Communist Party of Georgia . Shevardnadze was appointed to the First Secretaryship of the Georgian Communist Party by the Soviet government; he was tasked with suppressing the grey and black-market capitalism that had grown under his predecessor Vasil Mzhavanadze's rule. Shevardnadze's rapid rise in Soviet Georgia's political hierarchy
10218-695: The fundamental elements of the Stalinist system, including price controls, inconvertibility of the ruble, exclusion of private property ownership, and the government monopoly over most means of production. The value of all consumer goods manufactured in 1990 in retail prices was about 459 billion rubles ($ 2.1 trillion). Nevertheless, the Soviet government had lost control over economic conditions. Government spending increased sharply as an increasing number of unprofitable enterprises required state support and consumer price subsidies to continue. Tax revenues declined as republic and local governments withheld tax revenues from
10349-473: The government apparatus. On 1 December 1988, the Supreme Soviet amended the Soviet constitution to allow for the establishment of a Congress of People's Deputies as the Soviet Union's new supreme legislative body. Elections to the new Congress of People's Deputies were held throughout the USSR in March and April 1989. Gorbachev, as General Secretary of the Communist Party, could be forced to resign at any moment if
10480-425: The government collapsed. US President Reagan also actively hindered the Soviet Union's ability to sell natural gas to Europe whilst simultaneously actively working to keep gas prices low, which kept the price of Soviet oil low and further starved the Soviet Union of foreign capital. This "long-term strategic offensive," which "contrasts with the essentially reactive and defensive strategy of " containment ", accelerated
10611-635: The ideal of a unified Soviet people. One instance occurred in February 1988, when the government in Nagorno-Karabakh , a predominantly ethnic Armenian region in the Azerbaijan SSR , passed a resolution calling for unification with the Armenian SSR . Violence against local Azerbaijanis was reported on Soviet television, provoking massacres of Armenians in the Azerbaijani city of Sumgait . Emboldened by
10742-462: The infusion of democratic elements such as multi-candidate elections into the Soviet political process. A 1987 conference convened by Soviet economist and Gorbachev adviser Leonid Abalkin , concluded: "Deep transformations in the management of the economy cannot be realized without corresponding changes in the political system." In June 1988, at the CPSU's Nineteenth Party Conference, Gorbachev launched radical reforms meant to reduce party control of
10873-553: The internal affairs of its Warsaw Pact allies (" Sinatra Doctrine "). Gradually, each of the Warsaw Pact countries saw their communist governments fall to popular elections and, in the case of Romania , a violent uprising . By 1990, the governments of Bulgaria , Czechoslovakia , East Germany , Hungary , Poland and Romania , all of which had been imposed after World War II , were brought down as revolutions swept Eastern Europe . The Soviet Union also began experiencing upheaval as
11004-625: The largest oil terminal in South Caucasus . The Kulevi oil terminal is owned and operated by the Black Sea Terminal Ltd., a subsidiary of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic . Shevardnadze Eduard Ambrosis dze Shevardnadze ( Georgian : ედუარდ ამბროსის ძე შევარდნაძე ; 25 January 1928 – 7 July 2014) was a Soviet and Georgian politician and diplomat who governed Georgia for several non-consecutive periods from 1972 until his resignation in 2003 and also served as
11135-462: The late Premier Alexei Kosygin 's initiatives in the mid-1960s . In tandem with such economic experiments, Andropov launched an anti-corruption drive that reached high into the government and party ranks. Unlike Brezhnev, who possessed several mansions and a fleet of luxury cars, he lived quite simply. While visiting Budapest in early 1983, he expressed interest in Hungary 's Goulash Communism and that
11266-460: The liberalized atmosphere of glasnost , public dissatisfaction with economic conditions was much more overt than ever before in the Soviet period. Although perestroika was considered bold in the context of Soviet history, Gorbachev's attempts at economic reform were not radical enough to restart the country's chronically sluggish economy in the late 1980s. The reforms made some inroads in decentralization, but Gorbachev and his team left intact most of
11397-454: The local level of governance. Shevardnadze merged all Abasha agricultural institutions into a single entity and established a new remuneration system. If a farmer fulfilled the five-year plan early, he would be awarded a share of the crops. The policy had a positive effect on the Georgian economy and because of the large increase of agricultural output in Abasha, the reform was introduced elsewhere in
11528-526: The major cities answering questions from ordinary citizens. He became the first leader that spoke with the Soviet people in person. When he made public speeches, he made clear that he was interested in constructive exchanges of ideas instead of merely reciting lengthy platitudes about the excellence of the Soviet system. He also spoke candidly about the slackness and run-down condition of Soviet society in recent years, blaming alcohol abuse , poor workplace discipline, and other factors for these situations. Alcohol
11659-560: The members of the Warsaw Pact countries and instability of its western allies, first indicated by Lech Wałęsa 's 1980 rise to leadership of the trade union Solidarity , accelerated, leaving the Soviet Union unable to depend upon its Eastern European satellite states for protection as a buffer zone. By 1989, following his doctrine of " new political thinking ", Gorbachev had repudiated the Brezhnev Doctrine in favor of non-intervention in
11790-411: The military into a smaller, tighter force based on advanced technology were not considered feasible for the time being. Many, but not all, of the younger army officers appointed during 1985 were proteges of Ogarkov. Gorbachev got off to an excellent start during his first months in power. He projected an aura of youth and dynamism compared to his aged predecessors and made frequent walks in the streets of
11921-443: The most corrupt countries in the world. According to Spanish prosecutor José Grinda González, Georgian mafia led by Dzhaba Iosselani during the 1990s took control of the country and state and then later led by Zakhariy Kalashov during Shevardnadze's rule. Since April 2006, Khachidze or Lasha Shushanashvili also imparted influence on Georgia as well as Tariel Oniani from Kutaisi near South Abkazia. On 2 November 2003, Georgia held
12052-453: The official media had ignored. Media reports also exposed crimes committed by Joseph Stalin and the Soviet regime, such as the gulags , his treaty with Adolf Hitler , and the Great Purges , which had been ignored by the official media. Moreover, the ongoing war in Afghanistan , and the mishandling of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster , further damaged the credibility of the Soviet government at
12183-403: The opposition leaders Mikheil Saakashvili and Zurab Zhvania to discuss the situation in a meeting arranged by Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov . After this meeting, Shevardnadze announced his resignation, declaring that he wished to avert a bloody power struggle "so all this can end peacefully and there is no bloodshed and no casualties". Shevardnadze's resignation as President of Georgia
12314-418: The peak of oil production was reached in 1980. They increased the production of oil in 1986, reduced it in 1987 with a subsequent increase in 1988, but not to the levels of 1980 when production reached its highest level. The real increase happened in 1990, by which time the Cold War was almost over. In his book he asked why, if Saudi Arabia had such an effect on Soviet oil prices, did prices not fall in 1980 when
12445-460: The policy of détente, by financially aiding the Mujahideen movement in neighboring Socialist Afghanistan , which served as a pretext for the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan six months later, with the aims of supporting the Afghan government, controlled by the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan . Tensions between the superpowers increased during this time, when Carter placed trade embargoes on
12576-464: The political consequences of glasnost reverberated throughout the country. Despite efforts at containment, the upheaval in Eastern Europe inevitably spread to nationalities within the USSR. In elections to the regional assemblies of the Soviet Union's constituent republics, nationalists as well as radical reformers swept the board. As Gorbachev had weakened the system of internal political repression,
12707-553: The position of General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in March 1985. At 54, Gorbachev was the youngest person since Joseph Stalin to become General Secretary and the country's first head of state born a Soviet citizen instead of a subject of the tsar. During his official confirmation on 11 March, Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko spoke of how the new Soviet leader had filled in for Chernenko as CC Secretariat, and praised his intelligence and flexible, pragmatic ideas instead of rigid adherence to party ideology. Gorbachev
12838-454: The post of Minister of Foreign Affairs . He served in this position, except for a brief interruption between 1990 and 1991, until the fall of the Soviet Union. During this time, only Gorbachev would outrank Shevardnadze in importance in Soviet foreign policy. Shevardnadze was responsible for many key decisions in Soviet foreign policy during the Gorbachev era , and was seen by the outside world as
12969-575: The presidency was restored in November 1995, he was elected with 70% of the vote. He secured a second term in April 2000 in an election that was marred by widespread claims of vote-rigging. Shevardnadze's career as Georgian President was in some respects more challenging than his earlier career as Soviet Foreign Minister. He faced many enemies, some dating back to his campaigns against corruption and nationalism during Soviet times. Like Gamsakhurdia, Shevardnadze had to deal with Russian-backed violent separatists in
13100-402: The press becoming far less controlled. Thousands of political prisoners and many dissidents were also released. Soviet social science became free to explore and publish on many subjects that had previously been off limits, including conducting public opinion polls. The All−Union Center for Public Opinion Research ( VCIOM )—the most prominent of several polling organizations that were started then—
13231-562: The production of oil by Saudi Arabia reached its highest level—three times as much oil as in the mid-eighties—and why did the Saudis wait till 1990 to increase their production, five years after the CIA's supposed intervention? Why didn't the Soviet Union collapse in 1980 then? By the time Gorbachev ushered in the process that would lead to the dismantling of the Soviet administrative command economy through his programs of uskoreniye (speed-up of economic development) and perestroika (political and economic restructuring) announced in 1986,
13362-432: The reforms pioneered by Shevardnadze. According to Andropov's biographers the anti-corruption drive he launched was inspired by Shervardnadze's Georgian anti-corruption campaign. When Andropov died, Shevardnadze again became an avid supporter of Chernenko's candidature for the General Secretaryship. When Chernenko died, Shevardnadze became a strong supporter of Mikhail Gorbachev's leadership candidature. Shevardnadze became
13493-529: The republic. The agricultural reform in Georgia became the model of the nationwide Agricultural-Industrial Organisations established by a decree in 1982. Shevardnadze took much of the credit for Georgia's economic performance under his rule. Seven months before his promotion to the Soviet Foreign Affairs Ministership , Shevardnadze said there were thirty or more economic experiments operating in Georgia, which he said would further democratise
13624-511: The same time, Article 6 of the constitution was changed to deprive the CPSU of a monopoly on political power. Gorbachev's efforts to streamline the Communist system offered promise, but ultimately proved uncontrollable and resulted in a cascade of events that eventually concluded with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Initially intended as tools to bolster the Soviet economy, the policies of perestroika and glasnost soon led to unintended consequences. Relaxation under glasnost resulted in
13755-543: The same time, Georgia suffered badly from the effects of crime and rampant corruption, which were often perpetrated by well-connected officials and politicians. Although Shevardnadze himself was not personally corrupt and lived a fairly modest life, he was increasingly unwilling or unable to tackle corruption at the highest levels. All his closest advisers, including several members of his family, exerted disproportionate economic power and became visibly wealthy. Transparency International 's corruption index listed Georgia as one of
13886-474: The sheer size of the Soviet economy made strict top-down planning impractical. Changes were needed in a hurry for 1982 had witnessed the country's worst economic performance, with real GDP growth at almost zero percent. Andropov faced a series of foreign policy crises: the hopeless situation of the Soviet army in Afghanistan, threatened revolt in Poland, growing animosity with China, the polarization threat of war in
14017-545: The story tonight. He's like anybody who has converted; once he converted, he was really stuck as a true believer. He has endured assassination attempts, illegal coup attempts. He has been through ethnic difficulties in his own country. He has been through pressures from the outside and problems from the inside. He has watched the economy go down and things come apart and come back together again. But once he decided he believed [In Democracy], he stayed hitched, and he embodies something that I think we don't think about enough. We talk
14148-524: The system, Gorbachev's decentralization caused new production bottlenecks. The dissolution of the Soviet Union' was a process of systematic disintegration , which occurred in the economy , social structure and political structure . It resulted in the abolition of the Soviet Federal Government ("the Union center") and independence of the USSR's republics on 26 December 1991. The process was caused by
14279-457: The system; for example only 68 per cent of Georgian goods were exported legally, while the percentage of goods exported legally from other Soviet Republics approached 100 per cent. Shevardnadze rallied support for his anti-corruption campaigns by establishing the Study of Public Opinion . To combat corruption, he engaged in subterfuge ; after halting all exports he dressed himself as a peasant and drove
14410-440: The two superpower leaders established a solid rapport that boded well for the future despite Reagan's refusal to compromise on abandonment of SDI. A joint communique by both parties stated that they were in agreement that nuclear war could not be won by either side and must never be allowed to happen. It was also agreed that Reagan and Gorbachev would carry out two more summit meetings in 1986–87. Jimmy Carter had decisively ended
14541-476: The vast majority of "idealistic" reformers gained huge possessions of state property using their positions in the government and became business oligarchs in a manner that appeared antithetical to an emerging democracy. Existing institutions were conspicuously abandoned prior to the establishment of new legal structures of the market economy such as those governing private property, overseeing financial markets, and enforcing taxation. Market economists believed that
14672-605: The year for speaking out on discrimination practiced against Jews in education and the professions. Although Chernenko had called for renewed détente with the West, little progress was made towards closing the rift in East−West relations during his rule. The Soviet Union boycotted the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, retaliating for the United States-led boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. In September 1984,
14803-449: Was a close ally of Gorbachev and was a strong advocate of the reform policies of glasnost and perestroika. He subsequently played a key role in the détente that marked the end of the Cold War . He negotiated nuclear arms treaties with the United States. He helped end the war in Afghanistan , allowed the reunification of Germany, and withdrew Soviet forces from Eastern Europe and from
14934-501: Was a particular nag of Gorbachev's, especially as he himself did not drink, and he made one of his major policy aims curbing the consumption of it. In terms of foreign policy, the most important one, relations with the United States, remained twitchy through 1985. In October, Gorbachev made his first visit to a non-communist country when he traveled to France and was warmly received. The fashion-conscious French were also captivated by his wife Raisa and political pundits widely believed that
15065-435: Was aided by a lack of serious competition in the Politburo. He immediately began appointing younger men of his generation to important party posts, including Nikolai Ryzhkov , Secretary of Economics, Viktor Cherbrikov, KGB Chief, Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze (replacing the 75-year-old Gromyko), Secretary of Defense Industries Lev Zaikov [ ru ] , and Secretary of Construction Boris Yeltsin . Removed from
15196-415: Was appointed Minister of Internal Affairs of the Georgian SSR. After initiating a successful anti-corruption campaign supported by the Soviet government, Shevardnadze was voted as Second Secretary of the Georgian Communist Party . Shevardnadze's anti-corruption campaign increased public enmity against him. However, these campaigns garnered the interest of the Soviet government, and in turn, his promotion to
15327-400: Was employed within days of the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The subsidies to money-losing farms and industries were cut, price controls abolished, and the ruble moved towards convertibility . New opportunities for Yeltsin's circle and other entrepreneurs to seize former state property were created, thus restructuring the old state-owned economy within a few months. After obtaining power,
15458-543: Was formally elected as president in 1995. Under his rule, the peace treaty was signed in Sochi , which ended military hostilities in South Ossetia, although Georgia lost effective control over a large part of the territory. In August 1992 the war broke out in Abkhazia, which Georgia also lost. Shevardnadze also headed the government in the civil war in 1993 against pro-Gamsakhurdia forces, which did not recognize Shevardnadze as
15589-459: Was in poor health, suffering from emphysema, and unable to play an active role in policy making when he was chosen, after lengthy discussion, to succeed Andropov. But Chernenko's short time in office did bring some significant policy changes. The personnel changes and investigations into corruption undertaken under Andropov's tutelage came to an end. Chernenko advocated more investment in consumer goods and services and in agriculture. He also called for
15720-425: Was largely unsuccessful and when he returned to Georgia in 1992, corruption was still a huge problem. Under Shevardnadze's rule, Georgia was one of several Soviet Republics that did not experience economic stagnation , instead experiencing rapid economic growth. By 1974, industrial output had increased by 9.6 per cent and agricultural output had increased by 18 per cent. The shortage economy , which had evolved into
15851-475: Was marked by rampant corruption and accusations of nepotism. Allegations of electoral fraud during the 2003 legislative election led to a series of public protests and demonstrations colloquially known as the Rose Revolution . Eventually, Shevardnadze agreed to resign. He later published his memoirs and lived in relative obscurity until he died in 2014. Eduard Shevardnadze was born on 25 January 1928, in Mamati in
15982-421: Was notably the first one in Soviet history to occur completely peacefully with no one being imprisoned, killed, or forced from office. Andropov's domestic policy leaned heavily towards restoring discipline and order to Soviet society. He eschewed radical political and economic reforms, promoting instead a small degree of candor in politics and mild economic experiments similar to those that had been associated with
16113-491: Was opened. State archives became more accessible, and some social statistics that had been kept secret became open for research and publication on sensitive subjects such as income disparities, crime, suicide, abortion, and infant mortality. The first center for gender studies was opened within a newly formed Institute for the Socio−Economic Study of Human Population. In January 1987, Gorbachev called for democratization:
16244-484: Was perhaps the most radical of the economic reforms during the early part of the Gorbachev era. For the first time since Vladimir Lenin 's New Economic Policy , the law permitted private ownership of businesses in the services, manufacturing, and foreign-trade sectors. Under this provision, cooperative restaurants, shops, and manufacturers became part of the Soviet scene. Glasnost resulted in greater freedom of speech and
16375-483: Was raising the military budget to 70 percent of the national budget, and supplying billions of dollars worth of military aid to Syria, Iraq, Libya, South Yemen, the PLO, Cuba, and North Korea. That included tanks and armored troop carriers, hundreds of fighter planes, as well as anti-aircraft systems, artillery systems, and all sorts of high tech equipment for which the USSR was the main supplier for its allies. Andropov's main goal
16506-479: Was still strong and many Germans could not forget the destruction and mass rapes committed by Soviet troops in the closing days of that conflict. This attitude was helped along by the Reagan Administration's comments that a war between NATO and the Warsaw Pact would not necessarily result in the use of nuclear weapons. Andropov's health declined rapidly during the tense summer and fall of 1983, and he became
16637-400: Was succeeded by Nikolai Ryzhkov , and Vasili Kuznetsov , the acting Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet , was succeeded by Andrei Gromyko , the former Minister of Foreign Affairs . Further down the chain, up to 40% of the first secretaries of the oblasts (provinces) were replaced with younger, better educated, and more competent men. The defense establishment was also given
16768-461: Was the end of his political career. Shevardnadze spent his last years living quietly at his mansion house in the outskirts of Tbilisi. As his health deteriorated, his involvement in public life became much reduced. After a long illness, he died at the age of 86 on 7 July 2014. Georgia's former president Giorgi Margvelashvili and Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili extended condolences to his family members. Margvelashvili described him as "one of
16899-505: Was the result of his campaign against corruption. Throughout most of Shevardnadze's leadership, anti-corruption campaigns were central to his authority and policy. By the time Shevardnadze had become leader, Georgia was the Soviet republic most afflicted by corruption. The rule of Vasil Mzhavanadze had been characterised by weak leadership, nepotism, despotism , and bribery pervading the upper echelons of power. In Georgia, corruption had been allowed to thrive, leading to serious deformations in
17030-422: Was to avoid an open war. In foreign policy, the conflict in Afghanistan continued even though Andropov—who now felt the invasion was a mistake—half-heartedly explored options for a negotiated withdrawal. Andropov's rule was also marked by deterioration of relations with the United States. During a much-publicized "walk in the woods" with Soviet dignitary Yuli Kvitsinsky, American diplomat Paul Nitze suggested
17161-455: Was underlined in June when Vladimir Danchev, a broadcaster for Radio Moscow, referred to the Soviet troops in Afghanistan as "invaders" while conducting English-language broadcasts. After refusing to retract this statement, he was sent to a mental institution for several months. Valery Senderov, a leader of an unofficial union of professional workers, was sentenced to seven years in a labor camp early in
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